Eyelet socket



www 1&9 @36 H. REITER @,UERAE@ EYELET SOCKET Filed Jan. 10, 1935 INVENTOR. @www @wwf ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 18, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 10 Claims.

This invention relates to snap fastener socketsY and particularly, to those adapted to be applied to comparatively soft exible material such as leather, textiles and the like in such a manner as to prevent the socket from being pulled through the material under stress.

My invention contemplates the provision of a simple and inexpensive socket, which may be made of either resilient or non-resilient form, for the reception of a suitable cooperating non-resilient or resilient stud, respectively, and which is provided with a slitted or unslitted eyelet of comparatively small diameter adapted to pass through the material and to be hanged about a washer or other` holding means for holding the socket in place and also to provide a socket assembly of comparatively small height or lateral thickness.

My invention further contemplates the provision of a socket adapted to engage a comparatively large area on both faces of the material to which it is attached and thereby to avoid the danger of being pulled through the material.

My invention further contemplates the pro-v vision of a snap fastener socket designed to be simply and economically attached to a sheet of material Without danger of the material inter-v fering with the operation of the socket in any Way, or obstructing the socket against the proper entrance of its cooperating stud.

The various objects of my invention will be clear from the description which follows and from the drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a top plan View of a now preferred form of my improved socket.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section thereof.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of a somewhat modified form of the socket, in which the studengaging member is slitted for the reception of a non-resilient stud.

' Fig. 4 is a vertical section of a modiiied form of my improved socket wherein the clinching washer is replaced by a closed cap.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the same.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section of another modified form of my improved socket made of two pieces of material. y

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the same.

Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view of the same, modi- I Fig. 9 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 2 of a slightly modified form of the socket.

Fig. k10 is a bottom plan view of the same, the

(Cl. .Z4-216) stud-receiving portion, however, being shown as slitted to make the socket resilient.

Fig. 11 is a vertical section of another modiiied form of my invention showing the provision of upstanding walls on the stud-engaging member for bracing the stud-receiving part of the socket.

Fig. l2 is a vertical section of a modified form of my invention, similar to Fig. 6, and made of only two pieces.

My improved socket is particularly useful in connection with leather goods such as pocket books, gloves, shoes and the like wherein a hole is usually made through which the socket parts are passed so that the socket may be attached to the article, though'it will be understood that my invention may be applied as well to other flexible materials such as textiles and the like if desired, and that the socket may be so formed as to make its own hole in the material or to pierce the material when assembled in place.

In that practical embodiment of my invention which I have shown by way of example, and referring particularly to that form shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the socket comprises three parts, namely, the stud-engaging part I5, the stud-receiving part I6, and the clinching washer I'I. As shown, each of the parts is made of sheet metal suitably shaped to carry out its purpose. The stud-engagingmember I5 is provided with a centra] aperture or opening as I8, the wall I9 surrounding the aperture being bent upwardly and inwardly to provide a rounded surface for the easy passage of the stud head 20 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Said socket wall I9 is designed to engage and rest in the constricted neck 2| of the stud.

The outer peripheral portion or rim 220i the part I5 is bent upwardly and inwardly to engage the preferably hat horizontal peripheral portion 23 of the stud-head-receiving part I6, thereby to attach the parts I5 and I6 together, and whereby the member I5 is arranged in slight laterally spaced relation to the part I6 and to the adjacent face of the sheet to which it is attached. Extending upwardly and inwardly from the peripheral portion 23 is the inclined portion 24 joining the portion 23 with the at annular portion 25.

At its.V inner periphery, said portion 25 termilnates in the integral laterally projecting bellrolled, bent or anged over in a well known manner. Said eyelet portion may be passed through a suitable comparatively small opening 28 in the sheet of material 29 to which the socket is attached, or it may be self-piercing; that is, it may be sufficiently thin and small to permit it to be forced through the material if desired. In any case, the eyelet portion 21 is of less diameter than that of the socket opening and of less diameter than the part I6.

It will be understood that the assembled parts I and I6 are arranged at one face 30 of the sheet 29 and that the eyelet portion 21 is passed through the sheet so that said eyelet portion projects beyond the other face 3| of the sheet. Arranged on said other face 3I is the clinching or retaining washer I1, said washer being provided with a central aperture as 33 for the passage of the slitted or unslitted end part of the eyelet portion 21. Surrounding the aperture 33 Vof the washer is the depressed portion 34, adapted to receive the outwardly rolled or bent part 35 of the eyelet which is formed by outwardly and downwardly rolling or otherwise bending the projecting part of the eyelet on to said depressed part.

The socket assembly is thereby clinched to the washer and to the sheet, and the bent part 35 does not project above the highest part of the washer.

Outwardly beyond the depressed part 34 is the inclined annular part 36 integrally joining the upright wall of the part 34 with the preferably curved rim 31 and arranged angularly with respect thereto. The washer I1 is made preferably of the same or slightly less outer diameter as that of the part I5, but of suflicient area to compress a substantial part of the material of the sheet 29 between the washer and the socket part I5.

It will thus be seen that since the eyelet portion 21 is of comparatively small diameter, either no hole at all or only a small hole or aperture for its passage through the material is needed, and that the material is gripped over a substantial area between the socket parts, thereby to prevent the socket from Working its way through Vthe material under the stresses of repeated use.

It will further be seen that by the provision of the stud---head-receiving part below the eyelet part, the socket assembly including the Washer is of comparatively little height and not likely to exert undue pressure upon the body of the wearer.

When the socket is non-resilient, the part I5 remains unslitted. As shown in Fig. 3, however, when the socket just described is to be used with a nen-resilient cooperating stud, the wall I9 and a portion of the part I5 adjacent said wall may be slitted at spaced intervals as by means of the radial slits 38 to make the Wall I9 resilient.

When so slitted, a cooperating non-resilient stud may be readily passed through the opening I8 and into the stud-receiving part 26 of the socket assembly. It will be understood that for a resilient socket of any of the forms shown therein, the parts surrounding the socket opening are similarly slitted, in a manner which will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

As shown in Fig. 4, in those cases where it is undesirable to expose the eyelet and where a finished and closed cap is desired, the washer I1 is' replaced by a suitable closed cap 40. Said cap is provided with an imperforate top 4I and with an inwardly bent inner portion 42, apertured as at 43 for the passage of the eyelet portion 21. The portions 4I and 42 are joined by the integral bend 44. Inwardly of said bend, part of the material of the inner portion 42 is pressed laterally to form a series of spaced prongs 45 designed to enter the sheet 29 when the socket parts are assembled and thereby to prevent rotation of the cap 49 about the eyelet portion 21. Centrally of the imperiorate outer part 4I is arranged the preferably conical depressed part 45 entering the eyelet portion 21 and serving as an anvil to outwardly ange the preferably though not necessarily slitted outermost part 41 of said eyelet when the socket assembly and the cap 49 are pressed together. The cap 4D therefore serves as the clinching and retaining member for the eyelet, and serves also to conceal the eyelet, and to provide a finished and imperforate outermost exposed surface on the socket which may be suitably decorated as may be found desirable.

Referring no'w to Figs. 6, '1 and 8, I have there shown a two-piece socket wherein the separate member I5 may be eliminated and the member I6 modified to serve the functions of both of the parts I5 and I6.

In this form of my invention, the stud-receiving member 59 is provided with an annular flange 5I having a central integral bell-shaped portion 52 adapted for the reception of the cooperating stud. A suitable bend 53 integrally joins the portions 5I and 52 and surrounds the stud-receiving opening 54, being of the proper diameter and constricted shape to rest in the neck of the co'- operating stud 55 shown in dash-dot lines. The dimensions of the opening 54 and of the bend 53 are such that a resilient stud will snap past the constricted bend 53 into the laterally extending bell-shaped part 52. Should it be desired that the socket be resilient, however, as hereinbefore explained, suitable spaced slits as 56 (Fig. 8) are made through the bend 53, partway into the walls of the portion 52 and partway into the annular flange 5I, thereby to make the bend or Wall 53 sufficiently resilient to properly cooperate with a non-resilient stud as is well understood in the art.

The eyelet portion 58 which projects from the top of the stud-receiving portion 52 is flanged as at 59 on toI a suitable washer. As shown, the washer 60 may be flat if desired so as to decrease the total height of the socket to a minimum though it will be understood that a suitable concave Washer as I1 hereinbefore described may be used, if desired.

As shown in Fig. 9, the stud-engaging member 6I may be provided with a central aperture 62 for the passage of the stud and designed to rest in the neck of the cooperating stud 63 without the use of the walls I9.

As shown in Fig. 10, the material of the member 6l surrounding the opening 62 may be slitted at spaced intervals as by means of the radial slits 64 in order to render the socket sufficiently resilient to cooperate with a non-resilient stud in the manner herein'before explained particularly in connection with Figs. 3 and 8.

Referring now to' Fig. 11, in those cases where it is desirable to reinforce the stud-receiving part of the socket against possible collapse or distortion under the stresses of assembly and use, an additional upright approximately cylindrical wall as 65 is provided, extending the required distance beyond the wall I9 of the member I5. Said wall 65 engages the bell-shaped stud-receiving portion 26 o'f the member I5, and thereby serves to brace the portion 26 against possibility of distortion. As has been hereinbefore explained, the

member I5 may be made resilient for the reception of a non-resilient stud by means of suitable slits.

In Fig. l2, the two-piece socket comprises the part li! and the washer 1|. Said washer is similar to the Washer-I1 and receives the eyelet portion 12. The part 'Ill differs from the corresponding part 56 of Fig. 6, in that the flange 13 of the part 'l0 is substantially flat or only slightly curved from its periphery to the constricted studengaging bend 1d to better engage the face 3G of the sheet 29.

It will be seen that I have provided a simple socket designed to be readily attached to a sheet of material without danger of being pulled through said material and of little bulk and height and therefore well adapted to meet the requirements of practical use.

While I have shown and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that I do not intend to limit myself thereto but desire to claim my invention as broadly as may be permitted by the state of the prio'r art and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A separable snap fastener socket comprising stud-engaging and receiving members adapted to be arranged on one face of a sheet of material and an exposed centrally apertured clinching member adapted to be arranged on the other face of the sheet of material, said stud-engaging and receiving members comprising an outer socket member having a centrally arranged bell-shaped portion, a anged portion surrounding the center bellshaped portion and an eyelet portion of less diameter than and projecting from and arranged coaxially with the bell-shaped portion, and an inner stud-receiving and bracing member having a flange coextensive With and projecting inwardly of said flanged portion and having an integral wall entering the bell-shaped portion and terminating in an open end portion in contact with and bracing said bell-shaped portion, said clinching member being provided with a recessed portion surrounding the aperture therein for the reception of the outermost extremity of the eyelet portion whereby the eyelet portion may be passed through the aperture of the clinching member for direct access thereto and bent on to the clinching member and into the recessed portion to secure said member to. the sheet with said outermost extremity exposed.

2. In a separable snap fastener, a member provided with an annular flange having a central opening therein for the passage of a cooperating stud and with a stud-receiving part of less diameter than the outermost diameter of the ange and Withl an eyelet part projecting centrally from the stud-receiving part and of less diameter than that of said stud-receiving part, and an apertured and exposed Washer member having a depressed recess surro-unding the aperture thereof and adapted to have the eyelet portion passed through the aperture thereof for exposure to a tool and clinched thereon and into the recess to hold said members to opposite faces of a sheet of material.

3. In a snap fastener socket, an outermost stud-engaging member having a central aperture therein and a laterally projecting stud-engaging wall surrounding the aperture, a member having an annular flange and a centrally arranged and laterally projecting stud-receiving part, said wall extending into the stud-receiving part and being in contact therewith' 'for' bracing and reinforcing said part against collapse, a peripheral rim on the stud-engaging member bent around the periphery of the flange to secure said members together, an eyelet portion projecting laterally from the stud-receiving part and integral therewith, and means for engaging the eyelet to secure the socket to a sheet of material.

4. In a snap fastener socket, a member adapted to be arranged on one face of a sheet of material and having a laterally projecting stud-receiving part surrounding a central opening in the member, and attaching means for the member comprising only a Washer adapted to be arranged on the other face of the sheet and having an aperture therein and a recess surrounding the aperture, said means including bendable means extending laterally from the laterally projecting part of the member and integral therewith and adapted to be passed through the aperture of the washer for direct access thereto and bent into the recess, said washer being the only member on said other face of the sheet.

5. In a snap fastener socket, a member having a central opening therein adapted to engage the neck of a cooperating stud passed through the opening, said member being adapted to be arranged on one face of a sheet of material, means associated with the member for receiving the stud and for spacing the member from said face of the sheet, and means for attaching the member and the spacing means to the sheet including an eyelet integral with and projecting from the spacing means, and an apertured member adapted to be arranged in exposed position on the other face of the sheet, said apertured member having a depressed wall surrounding the aperture therein, the eyelet being adapted for passage through the aperture of the apertured member for direct access by a clinching tool and for clinching thereon and against said depressed Wall.

6. In a snap fastener socket, an inner socket member having a flange part adapted to engage one face of a sheet of material, a stud-engaging part surrounding a stud entrance opening in the socket and adapted to engage the neck of a cooperating stud passed through the opening, and a stud-receiving wall of substantial length integral with the stud neck-engaging part and extending laterally of the flange part, an outer socket member having a laterally extending part surrounding the wall and an integral flange secured to said flange part, said wall entering and bracing said laterally extending part against collapse, and means for securing said members to a sheet ofmaterial comprising a member of less diameter than the opening extending laterally from the laterally extending part of the outer member andhaving a bendable end, and a washer adapted to have the bendable end passed therethrough for direct access therebeyond and clinched thereon.

7. In a snap fastener socket, a rst flanged socket member adapted to be arranged on one face of a sheet of material and having an opening therein for the reception of a cooperating stud, and having a wall of substantial length extending laterally and surrounding the opening, a second flanged socket member having the flange thereof secured to the ilange of the rst member, said second member being provided with an eyelet projecting laterally from said member and of less diameter than that of said opening, and a sheet-metal Washer adapted to be arranged on the other face of the sheet of material and having an opening therein for the passage of the eyelet, said washer having a depressed flange-receiving central portion of greater diameter than that of the eyelet and surrounding the aperture, a laterally extending Wall integral with and projecting from the depressed part, a peripheral rim on the washer arranged in a plane parallel to and in .spaced relation to the plane of the depressed portion, and an annular part integrally joining the Vrim and the Wall of the depressed part.

8. In a snap fastener socket, an inner member provided with an annular ilange having a central opening therein for the passage of astud, an inwardly bent and laterally extending inner Wall on the member surrounding the opening and adapted to snapplngly engage and disengage the neck of a. cooperating stud, an inwardly bent peripheral rim on the member, an outer member provided with a peripheral ange engaged by the bent rim of the inner member and having an outer laterally extending wall surrounding a central opening in said outer member, said opening being of greater diameter than the opening of the inner member, and having a second opening therein arranged coaxially of the openings in said members but of less diameter than said openings, said outer Wall terminating in an extension surrounding said second opening, said inner wall engaging the outer wall intermediate of the ends of the outer wall and means adapted to receive and clinch said extension for securing said members and said means to a sheet of material.

9. In a rsnap fastener socket, a first anged socket member having a constricted central opening therein for the passage of a cooperating stud, a second hanged socket member arranged above the first-mentioned member, a rim on the rst member bent about the periphery of the ilange of the second member, an integral extension on the second member of less diameter than that of the opening, means for receiving and retaining the extension in place, and a wall on the first member surrounding the opening therein and entering the second member.

`10. In a snap fastener socket, a socket part provided with a laterally extending eyelet, and a one-piece anvil cap having an opening therein for the entrance t0 the eyelet, said cap having an imperforate outer surface to conceal the eyelet and having an anvil portion depressed from said surface to clinch the eyelet when the cap and the socket part are pressed together and having a perforated inner surface bent from and integral with the outer surface for engaging the surface of a sheet oi material.

HERMAN REITER. 

